Fighter Conor McGregor is reportedly close to agreeing to a third fight with Nate Diaz in Las Vegas which could once and for all determine who is the better fighter. The Independent , an Irish newspaper, reported that McGregor’s “friends and family are so sure of the fight being announced that they have already booked flights to Sin City.”
The fight would be held as part of UFC 219 on December 30. In addition to being a fight between two rivals, the fight would be McGregor’s first MMA bout in over a year. The Irish fighter last fought in November 2016, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC Lightweight Championship and become the first MMA fighter to hold championships in two weight bracket. That record was short lived as he would later forfeit his Featherweight Championship.
After the Alvarez fight, McGregor announced that he would be taking a sabbatical to await the birth of his son, who was born in May. He did have his famous boxing fight against Floyd Mayweather in August where he pocketed $30 million at minimum and a figure closer to $80 million according to Bleacher Report , and there has been speculation about whether he may choose to continue boxing instead of MMA fighting.
But while Diaz may not be quite as famous as McGregor, a fight between the two will undoubtedly be as exciting as the last two. In March 2016, the two met for the first time at UFC 196. Even though Diaz had less than two weeks to prepare and McGregor was riding a 15-game winning streak, Diaz stunned the MMA world. After enduring McGregor’s initial assault, Diaz put McGregor into a submission hold in the second round and gave him his first defeat.
McGregor would get his revenge in August winning via majority decision, but he may not be satisfied with a 1-1 record. Diaz’s boxing coach declared last week to the Daily Star that Diaz only lost because of an injury and that “if Nathan goes through training camp with no injuries, McGregor’s not gonna have a chance.”
Given this past record, there is little doubt that a rematch between the two would likely grab UFC viewers’ attention and across the globe. Now it remains to be seen whether such a fight will indeed truly be announced soon.
[Featured image by David Becker/Getty Images]
